Lagos State Police Command has arrested an 18-year-old lady, Ujunwa Offiah, for allegedly conspiring with her boyfriend, Blessed Ifesinachi, to fake her kidnap and demand N30m ransom from her family.
Police also arrested a 22-year-old accomplice, Precious Chukwu, whose phone was reportedly used to negotiate with Offiah’s family.
The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, while parading the suspects at the command headquarters on Monday, said the principal suspect, Ifesinachi, was at large, as at the time of filing this report.
Odumosu expressed that;
This is a case of conspiracy and staged kidnapping, and the man at the centre of this case, who happens to be a Uber driver, is still at large. We are going after him because he conspired with one of these two ladies, Offiah, who faked her kidnap.
He cleverly used the phone of another girlfriend, Precious (Chukwu), to contact Offiah’s family, informing them that their daughter had been kidnapped.
He added;
He requested N30m from Offiah’s family to get her freed and during negotiations, which involved the police, they settled for N700,000. While the money was being dropped, we took action and in the process arrested Offiah and Precious.
Lagos police also paraded three suspected cultists, Ismail Fatai, 23; Sherif Haruna, 22; and Dare Gabriel, 26, for allegedly terrorising residents in different parts of Lagos.
They claimed that Fatai terrorised people in the Lamgbasa area, adding that two people had “lost their lives through his actions and inactions”.
A locally-made pistol was reportedly recovered from the suspect.
Ten other suspects were also arrested for the burning of the Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area secretariat during the #EndSARS protest.
They are Abdulganiyu Abeeb, 30; Adetunji Senyi, 27; Ahmed Animashaun, 28; Alowonle Lawal, 28; Taiwo Nuah, 19; Abdulkareem Fawasi, 18; Kabiru Alabi, 28; Isah Joseph, 37; and Ridwan Oladipupo, 18.
The CP stated that all the suspects would be charged for the crime.
Igbo kwenu. I salute oo